So You're a literacy coach, what about the math department?

Presenters:
Danna Green
danna.green@jessamine.kyschools.us
David Cook
david.cook@pike.kyschools.us
Roland O'Daniel
rodaniel@ctlonline.org

  1. PowerPoint from Presentation - The PP is very large and will take time to download.
  2. Print from workshop- I just ask that you give me credit for any reuse of the material. All of the work is the copyrighted product of CTL. If you would like to reproduce for any purpose please contact us for permission.
  3. CMCL the Collaborative Model for Content Literacy is the whole school literacy program developed by the Collaborative for Teaching and Learning. I work for CTL implementing this program in several different projects. This isn't a sales pitch but if you want more information contact me at the above email.
  4. Writing in Math Wiki- A start to some of my thinking about writing in math, a review of a writing in math book, and a source of some good ideas.

    Below are the initial thoughts about this workshop. We shared through the wiki, as I try to do with many of the presentations that I do with other teachers and coaches.

Workshop on Entry:

Estimate the solution to two of the situations, show your work, NO CALCULATORS,
Be prepared to share how you found your answer:
15% tip on a bill of $32.65
10% discount on $452.63
40% increase in output of 2.5 tons
55% decrease in 12 sq. yards of material


Overview of 6 sub-domains of literacy:

Vocabulary Development
Reading Comprehension
Writing to Learn
  • Ways of representing math content- NAGS
    • Number
    • Algorithm
    • Graph
    • Sentences

Writing for Publication

  • WRITING to DEMONSTRATE LEARNING
    • Audience: teacher/assessor
    • Purpose: to show knowledge of content, concepts, or process
  • WRITING for PUBLICATION (pieces suitable for the writing portfolio assessment)
    • Audience: someone other than the teacher
    • Purpose: to accomplish a “real-world” task/objective
Fluency
Academic Dialogue



Reading in a Math Class:

Three different graphs with questions given to participants
-Write 3 Key Observations about the graph that you chose
-Like graphs break into small groups to share
-Pair with another graph to compare/contrast your findings
-Reflect whole group about the triangle activity (process here not content)

Hours Spent Playing Video Games
Wildfire fighting in the West
Population on the Move

Discussion of Recommendations from national organizations:NCTM, Reading Next & National Math Panel


Instructional programs from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 should enable all students to—

(Principals and Standards for School Mathematics, NCTM, 2000, p. 60)

To Build Adolescent Literacy Skills:
  • Embed effective instructional principles into content learning
  • Apply motivating and self-directed learning strategies
  • Provide direct strategy instruction
  • Engage students in collaborative work around rigorous material and concepts
  • Use diverse texts
  • Implement an intensive cross-disciplinary writing approach
  • Provide extended time and opportunities for literacy work

  • Engage in professional development that is long-term and ongoing
  • Work in teams to plan for strategy use
  • Apply technology as a learning and literacy tool
  • Gather evidence about student skills, both formative and summative and respond to that evidence through appropriate instruction
  • Provide strategic intervention for those students who have specific learning difficulties

(Reading Next, Alliance for Excellent Education, 2004)

National Mathematics Advisory Panel

  • Scientific Knowledge on Learning and Cognition Needs to be Applied to the Classroom to Improve Student Achievement
  • The curriculum must simultaneously develop conceptual understanding, computational fluency, factual knowledge and problem solving skills.
  • Limitations in the ability to keep many things in mind (working-memory) can hinder mathematics performance.
    • Practice can offset this through automatic recall, which results in less information to keep in mind and frees attention for new aspects of material at hand.
    • Learning is most effective when practice is combined with instruction on related concepts.
    • Conceptual understanding promotes transfer of learning to new problems and better long-term retention.
Effective practice includes:
  • Explicit methods of instruction available on a regular basis
  • Clear problem solving models
  • Carefully orchestrated examples/ sequences of examples.
  • Concrete objects to understand abstract representations and notation.
  • Participatory thinking aloud by students and teachers.
(Foundations for Success, National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008)

Discussion of Routines & Structures in Math Classes


In small group discuss different routines that teachers might observe
Discuss how to support those routines through coaching

Danna shares how she supports